Excavator attachment

ABSTRACT

An excavator attachment is provided which has a support structure and an excavation bucket. The support structure has a rear frame, a first side frame and a second side frame. The first side frame and the second side frame are attached to opposed ends of the rear frame. A first guide track is attached to the first side frame and a second guide track is attached to the second side frame. The first guide track is positioned parallel and opposite to the second guide track. Excavation bucket is positioned between the first side frame and the second side frame. The excavation bucket has at least one guide on each side of the bucket. The guides are adapted to travel in the first guide track and the second guide track. A winch that has a cable is attached to the support structure. The cable is connected to the excavation bucket and the winch is used to move the excavation bucket vertically up and down. A connect assembly is positioned on the rear frame for connection to a coupler of an excavator.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present application relates generally to an excavator attachment foruse on heavy machinery.

BACKGROUND

This section provides background information to facilitate a betterunderstanding of the various aspects of the invention. It should beunderstood that the statements in this section of this document are tobe read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.

When completing a large excavation, heavy machinery such as excavatorsare used. It is common to utilize several machines. While digging, anexcavator typically moves dirt from the hole and dumps it in a secondarylocation where it is then moved by a second excavator or other machineryinto dump trucks for removal from the site or to another location whereit can later be removed. Depending upon the size of the hole being dug,the process of moving dirt from one location to another can occurmultiple times before it is moved to a dump truck for removal. This canbe time consuming and requires the use of multiple drivers and machines.What is needed is a way of limiting the numbers of heavy machineryrequired for large excavations.

BRIEF SUMMARY

There is provided an excavator attachment. The excavator attachment hasa support structure in which an excavation bucket is positioned. Thesupport structure has a rear frame, a first side frame and a second sideframe. The first side frame and the second side frame is attached toopposed ends of the rear frame. A first guide track is attached to thefirst side frame and a second guide track is attached to the second sideframe. The first guide track is positioned parallel to and opposite tothe second guide track, The excavation bucket is positioned between thefirst side frame and the second side frame and has at least one guide oneach side of the bucket. The guides are adapted to travel in the firstguide track and the second guide track. A winch is provided that has acable. The winch is attached to the support structure and the cable isconnected to the excavation bucket such that the winch is used to movethe excavation bucket vertically up and down. A connect assembly isattached to the rear frame for connection to a coupler of an excavator.

In one embodiment, the support structure has feet for supporting thesupport structure on a ground surface. The feet provide for greaterstability of support structure while excavator attachment is in use.

In another embodiment, the first guide track and the second guide trackeach comprise a pair of rails between which the guides travel. The pairof rails has a top end and a bottom end. While the rails may be parallelto each other, it may be beneficial for the rails to be spaced apartfrom each other such that there is a greater distance between the bottomends than the top ends. It may also be beneficial to provide a stop atthe top end of the rails for preventing the guides from traveling beyondthe top end of the pair of rails.

In another embodiment, the winch may be powered hydraulically orelectrically.

In another embodiment, the connect assembly is positioned centrally onthe rear support frame and adjacent a bottom edge of the rear supportframe. Preferably, connect assembly is a quick connect that connects toa quick coupler on an excavator.

In another embodiment, each of the guides on the excavator bucket is atleast two rollers in parallel spaced relation to each other.

There is also provided an excavator attachment. The excavator attachmenthas a support structure in which an excavation bucket is positioned. Thesupport structure has a rear frame, a first side frame and a second sideframe. The first side frame and the second side frame is attached toopposed ends of the rear frame. A first guide track is attached to thefirst side frame and a second guide track is attached to the second sideframe. The first guide track is positioned parallel to and opposite tothe second guide track. The excavation bucket is positioned between thefirst side frame and the second side frame and has at least one guide oneach side of the bucket corresponding to the first side frame and thesecond side frame. The guides are adapted to travel in the first guidetrack and the second guide track. A mechanism for moving the excavationbucket vertically upwards and downwards is provided. The mechanism has adrive shaft that is connected to the support structure such that thedrive shaft rotates independently of the support structure. The driveshaft is positioned above the excavation bucket as it sits within thesupport structure. The drive shaft has at least one spool that isconnected to the drive shaft such that rotation of the drive shaftcauses rotation of the at least one spool. Each of the at least onespools has a cable with each cable having a first end and a second end.The first end of the cable is connected to the excavation bucket and thesecond end of the cable is connected to and wound around the spool. Adrive is connected to the drive shaft such that activation of the drivecauses rotation of the drive shaft in a first direction causingdownwards movement of the excavation bucket and rotation in a seconddirection causing upwards movement of the excavation bucket. A connectassembly is attached to the rear frame for connection to a coupler of anexcavator.

In one embodiment, two spools are connected to the drive shaft. Thespools are positioned on the drive shaft such that their cables areattached to the excavation bucket at a distance equidistant from thesides of the excavation bucket corresponding to the first side frame andthe second side frame.

In one embodiment, the drive used to rotate the drive shaft is ahydraulic motor.

In one embodiment, the support structure has feet for supporting thesupport structure on a ground surface. The feet provide for greaterstability of support structure while the excavator attachment is in use.

In another embodiment, the first guide track and the second guide trackeach comprise a pair of rails between which the guides travel. The pairof rails has a top end and a bottom end. While the rails may be parallelto each other, it may be beneficial for the rails to be spaced apartfrom each other such that there is a greater distance between the bottomends than the top ends. It may also be beneficial to provide a stop atthe top end of the rails for preventing the guides from traveling beyondthe top end of the pair of rails.

In another embodiment, the winch may be powered hydraulically orelectrically.

In another embodiment, the connect assembly is positioned centrally onthe rear support frame and adjacent a bottom edge of the rear supportframe. Preferably, connect assembly is a quick connect that connects toa quick coupler on an excavator.

In another embodiment, each of the guides on the excavator bucket is atleast two rollers in parallel spaced relation to each other.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features will become more apparent from the followingdescription in which references are made to the following drawings, inwhich numerical references denote like parts. The drawings are for thepurpose of illustration only and are not intended to in any way limitthe scope of the invention to the particular embodiments shown.

FIG. 1 is a front elevation view of an excavator attachment.

FIG. 2 is a front elevation view of the excavator attachment shown inFIG. 1 with the excavation bucket lowered.

FIG. 3 is a right side elevation view of the excavator attachment shownin FIG. 1 with the excavation bucket lowered.

FIG. 4 is a left side elevation view of the excavator attachment shownin FIG. 1 with the excavation bucket lowered.

FIG. 5 is a side elevation view of the support structure of theexcavator attachment.

FIG. 6 is a rear elevation view of the support structure of theexcavator attachment shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the support structure of the excavatorattachment shown in FIG. 3 with a winch.

FIG. 8 is a side elevation view, partially in section, of a guide trackand guide.

FIG. 9 is a front elevation view of a variation of an excavatorattachment.

FIG. 10 is a front elevation view of a variation of the excavatorattachment shown in FIG. 9 with the excavation bucket lowered.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

An excavator attachment, generally identified by reference numeral 10,will now be described with reference to FIG. 1 through FIG. 10.

Referring to FIG. 1, an excavator attachment 10 has a support structure12 made up of a rear frame 14, a first side frame 16 and a second sideframe 18. The first side frame 16 and the second side frame 18 areattached to opposed ends 20 and 22, respectively, of rear frame 14.Cross support beams 13 are provided on rear frame 14. Referring to FIG.3 and FIG. 4, first side frame 16 and second side frame 18 also havecross support beams 13. Cross support beams 13 add strength to supportstructure 12. Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a first guide track 24 isattached to an interior surface 26 of first side frame 16. A secondguide track 28 is attached to an interior surface 30 of second sideframe 18. First guide track 24 and second guide track 28 are positionedparallel and opposite to each other.

An excavation bucket 32 is positioned between first side frame 16 andsecond side frame 18. Excavation bucket 32 has at least one guide 34 oneach side 35 of excavation bucket 32. Guides 34 are adapted to travel infirst guide track 24 and second guide track 28. Guides 34 and firstguide track 24 and second guide track 28 permit movement of excavationbucket 32 along a set path within support structure 12. In theembodiment shown, excavation bucket 32 has a lip 33 that assists in theprevention of soil or dirt from falling out of excavation bucket 32during vertical movement.

To provide greater stability of support structure 12 while in use, feet46 are attached to bottom of support structure 12. In the embodimentshown, feet 46 are provided on the four corners 48 of support structure12. It will be understood that more or fewer feet 46 may be used. Aperson of skill in the art will understand that feet 46 must bepositioned in such a way that support structure 12 will be balanced onthe ground surface.

A winch 36 is provided that has a cable 38. Referring to FIG. 7, winch36 is attached to support structure 12 and cable 38 is connected toexcavation bucket 32. Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a pair of sheavesor pulleys 40 are attached to excavation bucket 32 through which cable38 is passed. The end 41 of cable 38 is attached to top frame 42. Thisprovides greater stability of excavation bucket 32 during verticalmovement. It will be understood that cable 38 may be connected directlyto excavation bucket 32 and that a single connection or multipleconnections may be used. Winch 36 is used to move excavation bucket 32vertically from a position in which excavation bucket 32 is positionedbetween first side frame 16 and second side frame 18, shown in FIG. 1,to a position in which excavation bucket 32 is lowered out of supportstructure 12 as shown in FIG. 2 and vice versa. In the embodiment shown,winch 36 is positioned on top frame 42 of support structure 12. A personof skill will understand that winch 36 can be positioned anywhere on theexterior of support structure 12. Pulleys, not shown, may be positionedon support structure 12 to redirect cable 38 to provide vertical pull onexcavation bucket 32. Winch 36 may be powered by a hand crank, notshown, hydraulically or electrically. A controller 58 may be providedfor controlling winch 36 when winch is powered hydraulically orelectrically.

Referring to FIG. 5 and FIG. 8, first guide track 24 and second guidetrack 28 are shown as consisting of a pair of rails 50 between whichguides 34 with rollers 31 travel. Where rollers 31 or wheels are used,it is beneficial to have a minimum of two rollers 31 or wheels toprevent excavation bucket 32 from swinging back and forth within firstguide track 24 and second guide track 28, It will, however, beunderstood that different methods may be used to prevent swinging ofexcavation bucket 32. Rails 50 have a top end 52 and a bottom end 54.Preferably, pair of rails 50 are spaced such that there is a greaterdistance between bottom ends 54 than top ends 52. By creating a largeropening at bottom end 54, it becomes easier for guides 34 to move backbetween pair of rails 50 when excavator bucket 32 is lifted back intosupport structure 12. A stop 56 is positioned at top end 52 of rails 50to prevent guides 34 from traveling beyond top end 52 of rails 50. Aperson of skill will understand that different types of guide tracks andguides may be used and include but are not limited to tongue and groovesystems and track and roller systems.

Referring to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, a connect assembly 44 is attached torear frame 14 for connection to a coupler of an excavator. In theembodiment shown, connect assembly 44 is a quick connect that iscommonly used for attaching different types of buckets and tools toheavy machinery. A person of skill will understand that different typesof connect assemblies 44 could be used to correspond to different typesof couplers used on heavy machinery. A person of skill will understandthat the connect assembly 44 may be used to connect to other types ofheavy machinery in addition to excavators. Connect assembly 44 ispreferably positioned centrally on rear support frame 14 and adjacent abottom edge 15 of rear support frame 14.

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, when in use excavator attachment 10 isattached to an excavator coupler by connect assembly 44. The excavatoris moved into position such that support structure 12 is positioned neara ledge, below which the excavation is occurring. Support structure 12should be placed such that excavation bucket 32 can be allowed to movedownwards to the area in which the excavation is occurring. Oncepositioned correctly, excavation bucket 32 is lowered using winch 36until excavation bucket 32 has reached the earth below. The excavationbucket 32 is allowed to rest on the ground surface while it is filled.Filling of excavation bucket 32 may occur in a number of different ways,including but not limited to manual means (utilizing a shovel andmanpower to fill the bucket) or mechanical means (use of an excavator,skid steer or other piece of equipment). Once excavation bucket 32 hasbeen filled with the desired amount of earth, winch 36 is used to pullexcavation bucket 32 upwards and back into support structure 12. Duringupward movement, guides 34 move into first guide track 24 and secondguide track 28 through bottom ends 54 and continue upwards towards topends 52. Winch 32 can be stopped once guides 34 have entered first guidetrack 26 and second guide track 28 or can continue to move excavationbucket 32 upwards until guides 34 reach stop 56. Once excavation bucket32 is positioned back within support structure 12, excavation winchbucket 10 may be picked up and used to dump the earth contained withinexcavation bucket 32 into a truck or alternative location.

Referring to FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, movement of excavation bucket 32 may beaccomplished through the use of mechanism 60. Mechanism 60 has a driveshaft 62 that is attached to support structure 12 above excavationbucket 32. Drive shaft 62 is connected to support structure 12 such thatthe drive shaft 62 rotates independently of the support structure 12. Inthe embodiment shown, drive shaft 62 is attached through the use ofbrackets 74 that connect to top frame 42 and extend upwards. Brackets 74positions drive shaft 62 above support structure 12. In the embodimentshown, drive shaft 62 has two spools 64 connected to it such thatrotation of drive shaft 62 causes rotation of spools 64. Each spool 64has a cable 66. Each cable 66 has a first end 68 and a second end 70.First end 68 of cable is connected to the excavation bucket and secondend 70 of cable 66 is connected to and wound around spool 64. A personof skill will understand that cable 66 may be a wire, a rope, a cable, achain or any other suitable item known in the art. A drive 72 isconnected to drive shaft 62 such that activation of drive 72 causesrotation of drive shaft 62 in a first direction causing downwardsmovement of excavation bucket 32 and rotation in a second directioncausing upwards movement of excavation bucket 32. A person of skill willunderstand that drive 72 may be a hydraulic motor, an electric motor, ahand crank or any other device known in the art for rotating a driveshaft.

In the embodiment shown, spools 64 are connected to drive shaft 62 suchthat cables 66 attach to the excavation bucket at a distance equidistantfrom sides 34 of excavation bucket 32 corresponding to first side frame16 and second side frame 18. A person of skill will understand that itis preferred that cable 66 be substantially vertical between spool 64and first end 68 that is connected to excavation bucket 32.

Any use herein of any terms describing an interaction between elementsis not meant to limit the interaction to direct interaction between thesubject elements, and may also include indirect interaction between theelements such as through secondary or intermediary structure unlessspecifically stated otherwise.

In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in itsnon-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included,but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to anelement by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibilitythat more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearlyrequires that there be one and only one of the elements. In addition,the term “excavator” is used with express or implicit reference to anytype of machinery used for dirt or material removal.

It will be apparent that changes may be made to the illustrativeembodiments, while falling within the scope of the invention. As such,the scope of the following claims should not be limited by the preferredembodiments set forth in the examples and drawings described above, butshould be given the broadest interpretation consistent with thedescription as a whole.

What is claimed is:
 1. An excavator attachment, comprising: a supportstructure having a rear frame, a first side frame and a second sideframe, the first side frame and the second side frame being attached toopposed ends of the rear frame; a first guide track attached to thefirst side frame and a second guide track attached to the second sideframe, the first guide track being positioned parallel and opposite tothe second guide track; an excavation bucket positioned between thefirst side frame and the second side frame, the excavation bucket havingat least one guide on each side of the bucket corresponding to the firstside frame and the second side frame, the guides being adapted to travelin the first guide track and the second guide track; a winch having acable, the winch being attached to the support structure and the cablebeing connected to the excavation bucket such that the winch is used tomove the excavation bucket vertically up and down; and a connectassembly attached to the rear frame for connection to a coupler of anexcavator.
 2. The excavator attachment of claim 1 wherein the supportstructure has feet for supporting the support structure on a groundsurface.
 3. The excavator attachment of claim 1 wherein the first guidetrack and the second guide track each comprise a pair of rails betweenwhich the guides travel, the pair of rails having a top end and a bottomend.
 4. The excavator attachment of claim 3 wherein the pair of railsare spaced apart from each other such that there is a greater distancebetween the bottom ends than the top ends.
 5. The excavator attachmentof claim 3 wherein the pair of rails have a stop at the top end forpreventing the guides from traveling beyond the top end of the pair ofrails.
 6. The excavator attachment of claim 1 wherein the winch ispowered hydraulically.
 7. The excavator attachment of claim 1 whereinthe winch is powered electrically.
 8. The excavator attachment of claim1 wherein the connect assembly is positioned centrally on the rearsupport frame and adjacent a bottom edge of the rear support frame. 9.The excavator attachment of claim 1 wherein each of the guides on theexcavator bucket are at least two rollers in parallel spaced relation toeach other.
 10. The excavator attachment of claim 1 wherein the connectassembly is a quick connect.
 11. An excavator attachment, comprising: asupport structure having a rear frame, a side frame and a second sideframe, the first side frame and the second side frame being attached toopposed ends of the rear frame; a first guide track attached to thefirst side frame and a second guide track attached to the second sideframe, the first guide track being positioned parallel and opposite tothe second guide track; an excavation bucket positioned between thefirst side frame and the second side frame, the excavation bucket havingat least one guide on each side of the bucket corresponding to the firstside frame and the second side frame, the guides being adapted to travelin the first guide track and the second guide track; a mechanism formoving the excavation bucket vertically upwards and downwards, themechanism having a drive shaft connected to the support structure suchthat the drive shaft rotates independently of the support structure, thedrive shaft being positioned above the excavation bucket, the driveshaft having at least one spool connected to the drive shaft such thatrotation of the drive shaft causes rotation of the at least one spool,each of the at least one spools having a cable, each cable having afirst end and a second end, the first end of the cable being connectedto the excavation bucket and the second end of the cable being connectedand wound around the spool, a drive connected to the drive shaft suchthat activation of the drive causes rotation of the drive shaft in afirst direction causing downwards movement of the excavation bucket androtation in a second direction causing upwards movement of theexcavation bucket; and a connect assembly attached to the rear frame forconnection to a coupler of an excavator.
 12. The excavator attachment ofclaim 11 wherein two spools are connected to the drive shaft, the spoolsbeing positioned such that their cables attach to the excavation bucketat a distance equidistant from the sides of the excavation bucketcorresponding to the first side frame and the second side frame.
 13. Theexcavator attachment of claim 11 wherein the drive is a hydraulic motor.14. The excavator attachment of claim 11 wherein the support structurehas feet for supporting the support structure on a ground surface. 15.The excavator attachment of claim 11 wherein the first guide track andthe second guide track each comprise a pair of rails between which theguides travel, the pair of rails having a top end and a bottom end. 16.The excavator attachment of claim 15 wherein the pair of rails arespaced apart from each other such that there is a greater distancebetween the bottom ends than the top ends.
 17. The excavator attachmentof claim 15 wherein the pair of rails have a stop at the top end forpreventing the guides from traveling beyond the top end of the pair ofrails.
 18. The excavator attachment of claim 11 wherein the connectassembly is positioned centrally on the rear support frame and adjacenta bottom edge of the rear support frame.
 19. The excavator attachment ofclaim 11 wherein each of the guides on the excavator bucket are at leasttwo rollers in parallel spaced relation to each other.
 20. The excavatorattachment of claim 11 wherein the connect assembly is a quick connect.